John 6:35
Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

What should we do in response to this verse?  To me, it's always been one of those verses that can't be understood easily.  But it also gives you so much when you meditate on it for a while after reviewing the verses before and after it.

Jesus had just finished feeding 5000 with a few loaves and fish.  And the people continued following after him the next day requesting "bread from heaven" as was given to the Israelites during the wilderness.  They claimed the bread from heaven was given by Moses, but Jesus corrected them saying it came from God.  Regardless, they either wanted to see another miracle or were still hungry or both, so they continued crowding Jesus.  At first, I would consider the feeding of the 5000 as bread from heaven, myself.  However, when you get down in to verse 35 and following, Jesus makes it very clear that He is the "bread of life."  But what does that mean?

In short, without repeating all the confusion that led to further questions by the people, Jesus was sent to us by God in Heaven just as the manna was sent to the wandering Israelites.  The manna was used to sustain people physically.  It kept them from starving, but they did eventually die; the manna was imperfect.  Jesus was sent to sustain us spiritually.  When you believe on Him and that he died for the sins of all (much as the bread was broken and divided among the many), then your spirit is sustained by Jesus.  But, this leads to eternal life because it's perfect (unlike the manna and the divided bread).

I wonder if those involved in the Chrismas story and depicted in everyone's nativity scenes actually realized that the Christmas miracle, the baby Christ and first gift of Christmas was actually spiritual sustenance for all mankind. 

So once again, what should we do in response to this verse?  Verse 29 says that Jesus told them “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”  If you've already done that and you're looking for more, how about sharing "the bread of life" with others?  That would feed (and sustain) so many more than just 5000.

Wow, It's been so long since I've been here that I had to figure out how to post to my own web log!  Not to mention that xanga has changed so much.  So, where have I been?  Well... there's this free online game that I began... it grew... and grew.... and I've only now torn myself from the grip of its intergalactic black hole-like pull. 

I'll be spending time in the next week completing an assessment at www.youruniquedesign.com.  I'm hoping in part that it will not only tell me that I'm not a good fit for what I'm doing but that it will also provide some insight into what I should do.

Now... let's see if I can remember what colors I was using...

   It's Mothers' Day weekend, so do you know what that means?!  It means I turn another year on the odometer of life.  It seems like a pretty quick year, too.  I'm not sure that I actually feel _5 years old (I'll let you guess the first number).  Maybe I am actually that old... truthfully, I can never remember my age so that must be right.

   It seems like this year is a year of "all things new."  Would you like the little list of new things?

1. New pair of black dress shoes (my last pair was purchased when I was in 6th grade and though still good, it was just time).
2. New driver's license.  The other one was going to expire on my birthday.
3. New glasses... guess that comes with the birthday, too.
4. New tires on the Jeep.  Got tired (no pun intended) of filling up every two weeks because of a slow leak.  Besides, every time it rains in Houston I pretty much felt like I was skiing to work.
5. Interview for a new job (still haven't heard back and it's been over 3 weeks!)
6. New leaf blower/vac (the old one sucked up a rock and broke a blade off the impeller.  Now, THAT is an experience!)
7. New TV.  The 13 year old television we had is probably not going to make it 14 years... and since we are one of the few remaining families with only one TV, we went ahead.
8. New (to us) entertainment center.  The new TV wouldn't fit in our old entertainment center... and no, our new TV is probably still not as big as yours.

So, I'd be interested in knowing what new things have come your way.  Oh, and Happy Mothers' Day to all of you who have been blessed in those regards (and even those of you who wear the title but don't feel blessed... because you should feel blessed; you're job is the absolute most important on the plant.)

  I did it!!  My goal was to reduce my cholesterol from 212 last November to below 170 for this last check-up.  Today, I got the results...  169!  Now, I have to just keep it going.

  It really is forcing me to think about how much I eat and what it is I eat.  My downfall?  Desserts.  In fact, someone was telling me about an article with the 20 worst foods (healthwise) in America.  I looked at the list and really didn't see anything that I eat regularly or would even want to eat frequently.  HOWEVER, check out that worst dessert! Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream!  That is just a shadow of the Better Together Brownies I found at O'Charley's when I was in Louisville... a dessert for two (or in that case, for one William  )!  I can (and did) clean off a dessert plate like that in no time!

  So, why even bother working on my cholesterol?  I can really only think of three reasons: Nancy, Myles, and Chloe. 

  You know... I kind of miss xanga, I think.